Top 10 rails-to-trails states; Michigan is No. 1

Bicyclists near Snoqualmie Tunnel on John Wayne Pioneer Trail in Washington

Michigan is fast becoming a major destination for bicycle touring, and one of its major draws is its wide-ranging network of rails-to-trails.

Abandoned and out-of-service railroad corridors criss-cross the state, and local governments and “friends of the trail” groups are transforming these into paved and gravel trails for bikes and other non-motorized users.

In fact, Michigan leads the nation in upgrading railroad corridors into bike trails. Its 126 rails-to-trails stretch for 2,379 miles around the state, according to the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy.

Twenty-eight projects on the drawing board in Michigan would add another 336 miles to the total.

Bike tours

Some 45,000 to 50,000 cyclists participate in 300 bike tours scheduled every year in Michigan, League of Michigan Bicyclists executive director Rich Moeller recently told the Center for Michigan’s Bridge magazine last month. At least nine of these are 5 to 10 days long.

While Michigan hasn’t studied state income associated with bicycle touring, George Zimmerman of Travel Michigan shared some anecdotal reports:

“Bicyclists rent cabins, hotel rooms, buy food, gas, souvenirs. People spend money on bicycles and repairs. When you look at the bike industry and what it brings to the state, bicycling cuts across all lines because everyone can participate, young, old, the serious or the casual cyclist.”

Bike travelers on the GAP trail from Cumberland to the outskirts of Pittsburgh pumped about $40 million a year into local economies along the 132-mile route in 2008 and 2009. That sounds like rails-to-trails are a good investment.

Top 10

Here’s the list of the top 10 states for rail-to-trails, according to Rails-to-Trails Conservancy [To find out about each state’s trail, go to Trail Link and browse by state in the upper right-hand corner of the page]